Running Away from Love
by x5dbskxsuju5x
Summary: Amu is in Acoma and Tadase is dead all because of Easter. With this on his shoulders Ikuto thinks it would be best to stay as far away from Amu as possible. Just how will he manage to do that when she is the one he loves the most.
1. Saying Goodbye

**I do not own Shugo Chara or any of the characters! This is just for fun!**

**This is my first anime fanfic that i actually knew what i was going to write about before i started writing it. I am extremely proud of me for doing so. I hope to update often! **

**I have no clue how long the story is going to be i just hope to continue for as long as i can!**

**Please Review! I will Love you Forever! :3**

**(Oh and the little xXxXx thing in the middle of the chapters are usually a time skip or maybe another person's poing of view in later chapter!)**

**Enjoy! :D**

**Chapter 1:**

**Saying Goodbye**

Ikuto's eyes screamed with pain as he lowered himself down to his knees and bent forward to where his hair casted a shadow over his face. He balled his hands into fists and slammed them into his thighs as he stared at the ground as if waiting for it to do something. Anger seemed to roll down his back in ripples as Ikuto's eyes quickly became overrun with tears of hate that spilled onto his cheeks and splashed onto the cold cement floor.

The freezing cold wind that would normally make a person shudder uncontrollably had no effect on Ikuto as he stared off into the night sky and wondered what he was going to do next. Everything he knew and loved was disappearing right before his very eyes and he could do absolutely nothing to stop it. No matter how hard he tried to keep everyone he loved safe, they would somehow get to them before he even had a chance to protect them. He knew he took the risk when he decided to get closer to them, but for some reason he couldn't stay away no matter how hard he tried he would always find himself gravitating towards them.

For the rest of his life he would have to live with the fact that he had cost another person his life and almost cost the person he loved the most hers. Even if they were to both pull through this together he would never be able to forgive himself and how he had risked the most precious thing in his life. She didn't deserve the cursed things that came along with him and he wasn't going to cause her anymore pain because he wouldn't be around to do so. No matter how much pain he had in his heart he knew that leaving was the only way he would be able to save her, and that is exactly what he planned on doing.

She was still in Acoma and he was thinking about leaving, was he crazy? He should be there when she woke up so that he could explain everything to her, but there was another part of him that thought it would be best if he left now.

Slowly putting his hands on the ground, Ikuto lifted himself up onto his feet and made his way over to the edge of the empty roof top and looked out over the city. Since it was almost four in the morning the streets were empty with only the occasional drunks making their way home slowly but surely. The city seemed much prettier in the early morning hours; it was almost as if it was a whole new world to Ikuto, one that seemed calm and peaceful but was really cruel and unforgiving, especially the other part of the world that the majority of the people would never know about. He could do nothing but grimace to just think about how other people were living their lives free from the horrible grasp of Easter and how they really were beneath the nice exterior they showed to the rest of the world.

As the anger bubbled inside of him, Ikuto quickly paced back in forth as he contemplated about what he was going to do next. He wanted to leave in order to save Amu's life but at the same time he didn't want to give his stepfather the satisfaction of having control over him for the rest of his life, unless he decided to do something about it.

**xXxXx**

It was mid-afternoon when Ikuto walked into the brightly lit hospital on his way towards Amu's room in hopes that she would soon wake up. It has been around a month since she went into Acoma and it killed him to see her so vulnerable and frail, when she was normally the most brave and encouraging person he had ever known.

His footsteps seemed to echo a sad and depressing sound as he turned the final corner towards her room. Every time he came to visit her he felt as though he should just turn back around because of how much pain he felt inside knowing that it was his entire fault that she was even in there in the first place.

Before he knew it Ikuto was standing before Amu's door contemplating whether or not to go inside. For some reason his feet seemed to be frozen to the ground and would not move an inch as anxiety slowly started to creep through every part of his body. His dark blue eyes stared at the door, making it seem as if he could see through it if he looked long enough. With a big sigh Ikuto took a hold of the doorknob and made his way into the hospital room.

The familiar sounds of hospital machines filled Ikuto's ears as he crossed the room towards the chair that was always right beside Amu when he came to visit.

The usually bright and energetic Amu was nowhere to be found, instead there was a body that seemed drained of all of its color. Even the usually bright pink hair was faded to a lighter shade of pink, along with the usually bright color that filled Amu's cheeks was gone and replaced with a dull grey almost like a gargoyle. It was as if someone had taken the complete opposite of Amu and put her in this bed, it was almost too horrible to be true.

For the month that Amu has been in the hospital Ikuto had been by everyday to see her and everyday he hoped that she would finally wake up. So to see her in that vulnerable state over and over again was slowly killing him inside, he didn't know just how much more he could possibly take.

"Amu-chi…I'm here, and look I even brought you more flowers to spruce up this boring hospital room…" Ikuto smiled and placed a vase of lilies on the night stand. Everywhere you looked there were all kinds of different flowers for everyday that Ikuto has visited. He didn't know what her favorite flower was so he just decided to bring her a new bouquet everyday so that she would have a choice when she woke up.

As he sat down Ikuto took Amu's hand in his and pressed his lips to her pale skin. Every moment of her presence filled his mind bringing tears to his eyes as he realized how much he truly loved her and how he never had got to tell her before she slipped into Acoma.

A single tear rolled down his cheek and splashed onto Amu's blanket as a flood of emotions started to take over him. Ikuto could no longer hold back his tears as he pressed Amu's hand to his forehead and continued to cry. This was the last time he was going to get to see her. He would never be able to tell her how much he loved her or how he thought the way she over reacted to everything was the cutest thing in the world to him. The little quirks about her are what made him love her the most, he was certainly going to miss that when he went away.

For hours he just sat there and held her hands savoring every last moment he had with her. Before he knew it visiting hours were almost over and he would only have a couple of minutes to say goodbye before the nurse would ask him to leave for the day.

"I know this is kind of sudden…" Ikuto's voice broke the normal silence filled with the sounds of machines as he brushed away a piece of Amu's hair from her face. "…but I have decided to leave. I'll only bring you more pain if I stay. It's for the best…"

More tears made their way down his cheeks as he hesitantly raised himself out of the chair and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. "I hope that you can forgive me one day…" Ikuto smiled bitterly as he looked at her for the last time before he turned around and walked out of the hospital room.

Slowly a tear made its way down Amu's cheek as the door closed behind Ikuto for the last time.


	2. Running

**Chapter 2:**

**Running**

Ikuto leaned against the door and slid down to a sitting position as the sobs started to become too much for him to handle. His cool outer exterior was slowly starting to crumble as the sobs came out faster and harsher with every breath, before he knew it he was full out crying in the middle of the hospital hall way.

"Are you alright?" a soft gentle voice came floating from overhead.

Ikuto didn't even look up as he quickly wiped the tears out of his eyes and stood up. "I'm fine. I was just leaving actually…" He avoided the nurse's stare and took off down the hallway before she could even respond.

Tears blurred his vision as he quickly made his way through the hallways toward the exit. He had no idea where he was going to go all he knew was that he needed to get away fast before he had the urge to see her again. He must have bumped into dozens of people in his haste to get away but he didn't care, just as long as he made his way out.

In a last burst of energy Ikuto sprinted towards the exit just in time for it to close right behind him. The cold air felt good against his sweaty skin as he continued to jog until he was a good couple of blocks away from the hospital.

Ikuto put his hand on the wall and bent over to where he could catch his breath. His lungs felt as if they were on fire as he put his hands over his head and sucked in a deep breath. He had been too busy crying his eyes out to really get a good breath in before he took off running out of the hospital. So instead of walking off any further, Ikuto walked a little bit deeper into the alley and sat down with his back pressed against the wall.

He didn't know how exhausted he was until he sat down and felt all the nights where he couldn't sleep pull at his eyelids. Slowly Ikuto found himself fighting to stay awake and before he knew it sleep had over taken him.

**xXxXx**

"Ikuto…Ikuto…" a familiar voice rang in his ears. "I think you might want to wake up now."

Ikuto's tired eyes opened up hesitantly as he looked up to see who was bothering his much needed sleep. Once his eyes were able to focus on the person he glared at her and tried once again to go back to sleep.

"Oh no…you're not getting off that easy!"

A sudden hand grabbed Ikuto's collar of his shirt and yanked him to his feet, making him shrink back in surprise. "What the HELL do you think you are doing? ARE YOU CRAZY OR SOMETHING?" Ikuto shrieked as he was pushed up against the wall.

"I just saved your ass…so you should be more thankful Ikuto." Utau's voice rang out in a mimicking manner as she let go of his collar and stepped back. "I should be asking you what the HELL do YOU think YOU are doing?" she crossed her arms and waited for a response.

No words seemed to describe the shock that was still clearly spread across his face as he took a few steps away from Utau. "What do you mean you just saved my ass? Did something happen while I was asleep?" he asked with a worried expression upon his face. What could have possibly happened that he didn't even wake up to notice what was going on around him?

"Well let's just say that our stupid step father –if you even want to call him that- almost got a hold of you yet again." She shivered with the thought of Ikuto once again being controlled by Easter. "You're just lucky that I was able to see them before they got to you, otherwise you would have found yourself a prisoner of Easter yet again." She laughed but on the inside she knew that she never wanted for him to go through that ever again.

A look of pain and anger flashed across Ikuto's face as he realized how close he had come to becoming a prisoner for the second time. The pain he felt inside only seemed to bubble into hate as he paced back and forth wondering about what he was going to do next. "I wish he would just stop already. Can't he see how much he has hurt me and the ones that I love?" his hands flew ran through his hair as he continued to pacing. "One of these days he is going to get what's coming to him, and I'm going to be the one that does it…"

The cruel smile that spread across Ikuto's face made him look much darker and scarier as the thoughts of defeating his so called step-father slowly took over his mind. All the troubles with Amu seemed to all but disappear as the idea of being able to get rid of Easter from his life gave him a little hope in being able to stay with Amu. Even though he highly doubted she would want to when she woke up.

"Um….Ikuto, are you alright?" Utau asked hesitantly as she continued to watch him walk from one side of the alley to the other. "I think you might need some psychological help there buddy." She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Everything is fine my darling sister." Ikuto replied as he made his way over to Utau's side. "I just have so many things going through my mind right now, so that is why it may seem as if I've gone mad." He laughed and patted her on the shoulders. "Thanks for saving my ass…I owe you one!"

"Wow…I didn't think you would actually thank me!" she laughed and looked up to stare into Ikuto's eyes. "So what are you planning to do now?" Utau asked with all seriousness in her voice.

Ikuto's face turned gloom as he began to once again think about Amu which only reminded him about what he was going to ask Utau to do for him. "Well…I was kind of hoping that you would check in on Amu from time to time while I was gone…" He stared at the ground as he kicked around the gravel at his feet.

Utau's mouth opened wide in shock. "What do you mean when you're gone? Where the hell are you going to go?"

"I don't know yet, but I don't think I'm going to come back. So that's why I need you to look after Amu for me…" Ikuto's voice quivered. "…and keep me updated." All of his emotions slowly came flooding back to him as he waited for Utau to answer.

"Why are you leaving? The person she is going to want to see most is you, are you just going to go ahead and leave her like that?" Utau paused. "It's not your fault no matter how much you think it is, you shouldn't take it out on her like this." She looked at Ikuto with pleading eyes. "Don't leave, she needs you and I need you."

"Stop telling me what I should or shouldn't do. I have already had all of my life controlled by him and I don't want to be controlled by you too." Ikuto turned away from Utau so she wouldn't see the tears that made their way down his cheeks. "I've decided to leave and there is nothing that you or anyone else can do about it. So please just look after her for me I won't ask anything more of you if you just do this ONE thing for me."

Before Utau could respond Ikuto turned around and ran until he no longer see Utau's figure when he looked back.


	3. Lost Dreams

Chapter 3:

Lost Dreams

Ikuto's legs felt like rubber when he finally stopped running about two and a half miles from where he had stood with Utau. His head was spinning, he wanted so bad to just turn around and go back and stand besides Amu's bed and pretend as if everything was going to be alright. Of course nothing would ever be alright until he had done something in order to stop Easter.

He was close to the outskirts of the city, a couple of more miles and he would be in the next town. So even though his feet felt as if they would fall off at any moment Ikuto pushed himself to continue walking until he could no longer tell where he was. All he knew now was that he was far away from Easter and Amu and he had no idea if he would ever go back. Only time would tell.

As the last of the daylight hours slipped by Ikuto dragged his tired body throughout the new town looking for a place to stay for the night. Just as the sun slipped below the horizon he managed to find an isolated alley way with a dead end that seemed pretty promising for him to rest for the night. With the little energy he had Ikuto walked towards the end of alley and collapsed to the floor. He had never been so exhausted in his life; these last few days had really worn him out. It was at times like these where he wished Yoru was still with him.

**xXxXx**

"Ikuto! I'm bored-nya. Can't we go and do something?!" Yoru's shrill voice interrupted Ikuto's nap making him roll over on his side opposite of Yoru. "Awwww….come on Ikuto we haven't done anything fun in a while-nya."

Ikuto opened his right eye to see his little guardian chara in front of his face with pleading eyes. "You're ruining a perfectly good nap Yoru…how many times have I told you not to bother me when I'm sleeping…" Ikuto flicked the guardian chara on the head and closed his eye once again.

"But…but"

"No buts, I want to get some sleep…go find something to entertain yourself." He once again rolled over onto his other side. It wasn't long until Yoru could hear the familiar breathing pattern that Ikuto slipped into when he was asleep.

With a sigh Yoru laid down next Ikuto and stared up at the sky as he contemplated what he could possibly do to keep himself entertained. Suddenly a sneaky look came over his face as he went over to Ikuto and carefully searched in his pockets until he finally came across what he was looking for. As carefully as he could Yoru pulled out a sharpie from his pocket and quickly looked at Ikuto to make sure that he hadn't disturbed him.

Smiling to himself Yoru quickly uncapped the marker and floated above Ikuto's sleeping face. As lightly as he could while still being able to leave a mark he slowly started to draw over Ikuto's face. By the time that he was finished Yoru could no longer contain his laughter as he collapsed on the floor in a fit of giggles.

While he was too busy laughing to really pay attention to anything around him Ikuto eyes slowly opened to star at his crazy chara. Ikuto wasn't stupid, he knew that Yoru was laughing about something he had done to him while he was asleep, he just didn't know what it was. So as he continued to pretend to be asleep his hand slowly crept alongside the still laughing Yoru and grabbed him by the tail.

"Ikuto-nya." Immediately Yoru stopped laughing. "I see that you're finally awake-nya." He quickly put his hands to his mouth to stop from giggling.

"What's so funny Yoru?" Ikuto's dark blue eyes stared at Yoru as he tried to wiggle his way out of his grip. "What did you do while I was asleep?"

Just the tone of his voice was enough to scare Yoru as he looked at Ikuto in hopes that he wouldn't kill him. "Why do you always think that I've done something to you when you were asleep-nya? How do you know I'm not laughing because someone else did something stupid?" Yoru folded his arms and stared back at Ikuto.

"Because every time you have done something to me, you have almost died from laughing too much and I doubt that you would laugh as hard when it was someone else's stupid antics you were watching." Ikuto's eyes flickered over the grass behind Yoru and spotted the maker that laid a few feet away. "Does this have something to do with that marker over there?"

All the color in Yoru's face seemed to disappear as he continued to struggle to get away until finally he was able to get away from Ikuto's grasp. "Please don't kill me-nya!" Yoru flew away until he could no longer see the scowl upon Ikuto's marker filled face.

**xXxXx**

A smile slowly formed on Ikuto's tired face as the last memory of Ikuto filled his mind. If he had only knew that would be one of the last moments with Yoru he would have spent less time being angry and more time cherishing the moments he had with him.

Gently Ikuto reached into one of his pockets and pulled out Yoru's closed egg. The usual brightness was no longer there instead it seemed as if a permanent shadow was casted over the egg never to give off the bright light again. His thumb brushed over it over and over again as he stared at the egg with longing in his eyes. His dream died when Amu had slipped into Acoma and now he was almost positive that he was never going to be able to get that dream back.

A part of him wanted to slam the egg into the wall and forget all about his stupid dream, but he knew he would never be able to do that. Amu wouldn't want him to do that and he wouldn't ever be able to do that to Yoru. He loved them too much to ever disappoint them like that.

He was now alone and looking at Yoru's egg made him realize that. No longer would he have someone buzzing over his head bothering him about being bored. No longer would he be able to feel the wonderful power that flowed through him whenever he character changed. It only made him feel that much emptier inside.

His hands started to grip the egg harder as Ikuto's anger started to build up at the realization that everything he once had was no longer there to hold him up anymore. It was just him against the cruel world and there was nobody or anything that was going to be able to help him now.

Before Ikuto could crush the egg he loosened up his grip and looked up at the night sky. There was a slight breeze that felt good against Ikuto's warm skin as he closed his eyes and tried to clear his head from the many emotions that were making their way to the front of his mind. The final attempts of Amu's guardian chara's screams before their eggs closed for good echoed in his head making him cringe and squint his eyes in attempt to make them stop.

Once she had slipped into Acoma her chara's had no choice but to return to their eggs. Oh boy did they put up a fight, but in the end they ended up being sealed away in their eggs waiting for Amu to wake up.

"If she even does wake up…" Ikuto whispered to himself. "…they don't deserve to be shut up in their eggs because of me just like she doesn't deserve to be in a hospital bed right now..."

Carefully he tucked away Yoru's egg back into his pocket and placed his head in his hands. Even though he felt the exhaustion tugging on all the parts of his body Ikuto could not bring himself to fall asleep. Instead he found himself staying up and thinking about how he would much rather have lost his life that day instead of the two people he cared about most losing theirs.


	4. Nightmare

**Chapter 4:**

**Nightmare**

"IKUTO WATCH OUT!" Amu yelled as she flew towards him. Without even thinking about it she pushed Ikuto out of the way and took the hard blow to her back that sent her flying across the room.

Her head hit the wall with a deafening crack making her fall to the floor in an almost lifeless heap. Ikuto's eyes burned with fury as he looked from Amu to the security guard who had done that to her. How could she have been so stupid to try and stop that man from hitting him?

Not wasting any more time, Ikuto ran over to Amu's side and checked to see if she was alright. His hands carefully ran over the back of her head and felt the warm sticky sensation of blood on his skin. She was bleeding and bleeding fast, he had to get her to the hospital immediately. The only question was how.

There were still quite a few security guards who had managed to still be fighting even though they looked as if they would pass out at any moment. He couldn't leave Tadase to fight the guards alone so as much as it hurt him to do so, Ikuto carefully put Amu's head down and hesitantly went to fight what would hopefully be the final battle.

Heat seemed to spread throughout his whole body as he grabbed one of the security guards by the collar and threw him towards a group of guards that were disentangling themselves from the massive pile of people. A cruel and sadistic laugh escaped his lips as he watched the guards as if they were worms in a bucket. The way they wiggled and pushed one another only made hurting them that much more fun. After they hurt his Amu there was no longer any forgiveness and kindness in his eyes as he continued to pick off the guards one by one. By the time that he was finished sweat had managed to drench his clothes and he was out of breath as he went over to check on Amu.

"I see that you managed to take out all of my guards…" a cold voice said sending chills down Ikuto's spine. "…now there is only one more option I have to hopefully make you learn your lesson…"

Ikuto turned around just in time to see his step-father pull out a gun and aim it at Tadase, who was leaning up against the wall. "TADASE!" Ikuto screamed as the gun went off.

Tadase turned around just in time for the bullet to pierce his heart, making him yell out in pain and drop to the ground like a pin. His eyes were full of fear and sadness as he pressed his hands to his chest and looked into Ikuto's eyes. "I love you big brother…" Tadase mouthed as he took his last breath and quickly faded away.

**xXxXx**

"TADASE!" Ikuto shouted as he sat up from his sleeping position. Cold sweat clung on to every part of his body making his clothes stick to him as he rubbed his eyes with his hands and looked towards the slowly rising sun. "It was just another nightmare…" he whispered to himself as he brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He could once again feel the tears well up as he once again thought of that horrendous night.

No matter how hard he tried he would always dream of the same thing every night as if it wouldn't let him forget what his bad luck has done to hurt the ones he loves. He no longer loved to sleep like he did before any of this had happened, instead he despised everything about it because he knew that no matter what he would repeat that image in his head every time. It was as if a clip of a movie was stuck on repeat and you could do nothing to stop it.

Ikuto slapped his thigh as he tried to keep the tears from spilling over. Every muscle tensed up as he leaned against the wall and took a deep breath hoping that everything would just go away so that he wouldn't have to deal with any of it anymore. Unfortunately for him everything was still the same. He tried to close his eyes so that he could clear his head but for some reason Tadase and Amu kept popping up at the forefront of his mind and there was nothing he could do about it. So every breath, every movement made him feel as if pieces of his heart were slowly breaking off and at any moment there would no longer be anymore parts to break off.

His body felt numb and cold as the once clear sky quickly started to turn dark. The dark clouds rolled over the sky and quickly covered up the first few rays of sunshine that came over the horizon once again engulfing Ikuto in darkness. His face was no longer highlighted in light, instead it was now dark and foreboding as he sat and contemplated what he was going to do with his life now. There was no way he was going to be able to go back to Amu, he couldn't continue to see her and pain and couldn't stand it knowing that he is the one that caused it.

The first few drops of rain splashed onto his face and slid down his cheek slowly making its way down his neck to his shirt. Ikuto looked up at the dark sky and had to squint as the raindrops started to fall quickly and it wasn't long until it became more consistent as he continued to sit there and look up into the sky. With the little strength he had Ikuto lifted himself up off of the ground and went to explore this new city that he was in. He didn't care if he got wet, all he would get was a little cold and he'd get over it unlike Tadase who would never be able to walk this earth again.

He sighed and ran his hand through his wet hair and continued on his way down the unfamiliar streets that seemed almost comforting in a way. Something about not knowing anyone and having no idea where he was going seemed to calm his frantic mind making him shiver with pleasure. Maybe it was best for him to have left, Amu can start her new life and he could start his. With this on his mind the burden on his back seemed to feel lighter making him almost smile with relief. Maybe it would get better after all.

Ikuto knew that he would never fully be able to get over it but just knowing that maybe things would be just a little bit better made him believe that he could do some good after all. He laughed at the thought, he would never be good, and he would only hurt more people in the long run if he had stayed. The slight smile that had found its way to his lips slowly disappeared as that thought stayed in his mind and didn't seem as if it would get off anytime soon.


End file.
